10.1: Lemonade Sales and Sisters

   I glumly stood at the lemonade stand, staring into the empty glass jar. I'd been standing her since morning, yet no one had come by, interested in paying seventy-five cents for lemonade. The only person that's passed me all morning was Chester, who was going to band practice; I think their name was Twenty-First Century Screw Ups, however they changed it so much, from Double X 12, to Sock Monkey Scream, to Flying Potato, to Dirty Sneakers, so I wasn't sure. I'd told mum I didn't want her or daddy to micromanage the stand, I knew that she loved coming up with proposals for expansions and drawing logos and creating slogans and he could strategically find the best place on the block, but I didn't want their help; I was in eighth grade for goodness' sake, I could run a tiny lemonade stand on my own.

   "Ryelynn!" I heard the shrill cry of my older, ninth grade sister and knew her face would be twisted into a look of disdain, without even having to turn around.
   "Yes, Hadley?"
   "You're blocking the entryway, ugh, my friends are coming over to my annual end of the school year sleepover, they don't need to see you."
   "And the potential customers don't need to hear you." I shot back, hearing her pad down the porch steps. "I'm trying to earn money for Comic Con in San Diego."

   "Look..." She said, staring off into the distance, over my right shoulder. "I know you're, like, mega, like, unpopular and that has to be hard, because I'm your, like, sister, but whateves, okay? You can't live your social life through me and my friends."
   "I have a social life; just because I'm not going to the pre- and post- football parties don't have a ton of guys, most who are from my grade might I add, asking me out on parental accompanied dates doesn't mean I don't have friends, I have several good ones."
   "Just don't talk to them, okay?"
   "No worries." I said, turning back to the stand.

   "Made any money?" I heard my other sister, Remy, who must have rushed out of the house when Hadley and I were having our tiff.
   "Sadly I haven't."
   "Tragic story." Hadley added under her breath.
   "Where are you headed off to?" I asked my eldest sister.
   "I was just gonna drive to the hospital, do a bit of volunteering."
   "Really?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. She never wore shorts to volunteer, usually it was a nicer blouse and a skirt or slacks, she never volunteered on weekends, also ever since she got her license three months ago she hadn't driven herself to volunteer, she said that the patrons of the hospital were reckless drivers and they might scratch her cherry red, two seats smart car.
   "Yeah..." She trailed off, looking from me to Hadley, who was examining her nails. "Come over her." She took my arm, leading me to the side of the house.

   "What are you really doing?"
   "Shh! Don't speak so loud, Hadley might overhear, you know how vindictive she gets."
   "Sorry." I whispered.
   "I'm not volunteering, I... I have a meeting."
   "A meeting?"
   "At the diner, with a guy."
   "What type of guy?" I asked, curiously. Hadley was a serial dater, if you even call what she did dating, she decided whoever was the most popular fourteen year old at the moment was her boyfriend, they'd hold hands in the hallway, eat lunch together, and that was pretty much it.
   "A friend of our brother's."
   "Oo! A band member?"
   "Not that brother."
   "One of Felix's friends? But he's enrolled in Los Angeles Community College." He was on his second and last year of study to earn an associate's in automotive technology, he wanted to run his own car repair shop and mom and dad, who both went to college, were pretty persistent about the fact that all five us were going to seek some variety of higher education.
   "I know..."
   "You're going on a date with a twenty year old?! You're sixteen."
   "Yeah, well I'll be a junior soon, so..."
   "Does that guy know your age? This is creepy, what if he's a pedophile?"
   "He's nineteen he doesn't know my age and this is why I was sneaking out. Look, we're going to be in a public space, if things seem to be going in a creepy, illegal direction I'll get out of there ASAP and tell mom and dad what happened."
   "Okay..."
   "Trust me, I asked Felix a thousand questions about him and he seems like a nice guy. Honestly. Besides, this is my first date-date, please let me go on it."
   "If Felix was wrong, you know what daddy's going to do to him and his friend, right?" I smiled. Daddy loved playing Mr. Tough Guy whenever the idea of his daughters dating came up.
   "Thank you." She said, hugging me.